Orange County’s two big mall retailers, Anaheim’s Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. and Wet Seal Inc. of Foothill Ranch, reported sharply lower July same-store sales.
Both also lowered or narrowed their profit outlook for the current quarter.
Pacific Sunwear, which runs stores selling surfwear and urban styles, saw July sales at stores open at least a year fall 4.6%. Analysts on average had expected a 3.2% rise.
The company cut its outlook for the current quarter, saying it expects a loss of about $12 million. Before, Pacific Sunwear expected to earn up to $12.6 million.
The forecast includes about $15 million in charges for the closing of some demo stores selling urban styles and for the company’s One Thousand Steps shoe store chain.
Excluding charges, Pacific Sunwear expects to earn about $5 million in the quarter.
Wet Seal, which sells clothes for girls and young women, saw a 7.2% drop in July same-store sales. Analysts had expected a 5% decline.
For the current quarter, Wet Seal forecasts profits of up to $6.7 million, versus an earlier view of $7.6 million at the high end.
